


The Lives of Two Snipers

by orphan_account



Category: Assassination Classroom
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Mostly focuses on Chiba and Hayami, One-Shots, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-06
Updated: 2019-09-11
Packaged: 2020-10-06 07:01:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20502824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: One shot gallery with a heavy focus on the Class 3-E sniper couple. Some stories will feature just one half of he duo hanging out with others or on their lonesome.





	1. Cute: Part 1

Rinka Hayami, was a stoic and business minded individual who took everything as serious as she could, no questions asked. Some would even call her a professional adult in the body of a sixteen year old girl. Her boyfriend, Ryuunosuke Chiba, could also be the same way, just not the girl part. That being said, they weren't emotionless husks with hearts of stone; they still knew how to smile and how to have a good time with others and had their little quirks that stood out to others. For example, Rinka Hayami, REALLY loved cute stuff. This was a fact everyone who has known her personally had known. But Chiba got to know this fact, personally, various times.

Korosensei wanted to make a yearbook for Class 3-E and took the liberty of taking the photos himself. Unfortunately a majority of them were either embarrassing, unflattering, or just revealed stuff about themselves that they didn't want people to know. Hayami froze when she saw her teacher pull up a picture of her at the local pet shop down the street from her house and was flustered and kind of pissed.

Everyone, save for Karma, immediately rushed the mountain of Polaroids and began tearing their embarrassing pictures apart as fast as they could. Hayami immediately collected all the pictures, which were just her with cats. She didn't tear them up because despite how embarrassing and annoying it was for Korosensei to be there, they were good pictures and it would be a crime to tear up perfect kitty cat pictures. She was back at her desk admiring the different cat pictures when a voice disrupted her adventure.

"Very cute." She looked up to see Chiba standing next to her, looking down. She immediately threw the photos in her folder and into her desk with a blush creeping onto her cheeks.

"Yes, they're very cute cats." Hayami agreed.

"Wasn't talking about the cats." Chiba coolly whispered to her. Oh that's unfair. But she kept her cool, sort of. Her cheeks felt hot.

"Well, what dirt did he get on you?" she asked, genuinely curious. Chiba sighed and with pink-dusted cheeks, pulled out two halves of a torn photo and put them together showing Chiba at a wig shop, trying on a wig with hair as big as curly as Yoshida's hair. From the angle the picture was taken, the face mirror was blocking Chiba's face-though she's already seen his eyes so she didn't mind- and in the background Korosensei was dressed like Chiba, again. Oh that brought her back to a certain memory and she began to stifle some giggles.

"Yeah, yeah, hyuck it up." Chiba muttered before pocketing the picture. "Anyway, you and cats. What's up with that?"

"Well...I just always like cute stuff is all." she confessed, looking up at him and saw a hint of his eyes. They honestly did look a little unsettling when he was looking down at you but she didn't mind.

"Hey, you don't have to act like it's a bad thing. Even I can't help but pet a stray if it looks clean enough." Before anyone could say anything else Korosensei told everyone to go outside for cosplay photos. Both traded worried glances for what could be even more embarrassing.

"Let's just get it over with." Hayami blandly stated as she got up and left with the class.

A FEW COSTUME CHANGES LATER

"Nevermind, I'm really glad this is a thing." Hayami teased with a cat smile as she took several pictures of Chiba, who stood in a cat costume with a heavy blush on his face. He tried to hide his face but Hayami insisted he stay still.

"Rinka, please stop." Chiba pleaded.

"So cute." Hayami continued taking pictures to her delight and to Chiba's dismay.

Rinka and Chiba loved their friends like family but they originally didn't plan on going to Kurahashi's house for the small get together with Isogai and Kataoka but...

**_____________**

Kurahashi**:** Come on, Rinka. PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASE!

Hayami: Hinano; Chiba and I have a meeting with a client.

Kurahashi: Can't you just pretend Chiba's sick or something?

Hayami: Hinano

Kurahashi: Fine...

Kurahashi: Guess you won't get to meet all kitty's I've been looking after.

Kurahashi: Orange Tabbys...your favorite...four weeks old and very active.

Hayami: I'm on my way.

Kurahashi: YAY!

**_____________**

After calling the client and telling him that Chiba had a very bad case of food poisoning, they were thankfully understanding and scheduled the meeting for next week. They made their way to Kurahashi's house and rang the doorbell. After waiting a few seconds a muffled "Coming!" was heard and the door opened revealing the bright and bubbly, Hinano Kurahashi. Inside the living room, sitting on a couch were Yūma Isogai and Megu Kataoka.

"Rinka! Chiba! You guys made it!" the short nature lover beamed and immediately grabbed them in a bear hug, though a bit uncomfortable they returned the hug before breaking away and leading the sniper couple inside and shutting the door.

"Hinano, it's great to see you." Chiba coolly greeted.

"Likewise."

"It's been a while hasn't it guys?" Isogai spoke up as he and Kataoka got up from the couch to greet their long time friends.

"Yeah, it's great to see you. How have things been?" Hayami asked as she hugged her two former class leaders. Kataoka was about to speak up when several tiny _ meows _ immediately caught Hayami's attention as five orange tabby kittens rounded the corner from the hallway towards their caregiver. Whatever Kataoka was saying it wasn't registering.

"Oh, looks like their awake." Kurahashi walked over to the kittens and picked one up and scratching it behind the ear. Isogai and Kataoka sat back down as Chiba and Hayami, who was still looking at the kitties, sat down on a couch adjacent to the one the others were on. Kurahashi noticed Hayami and walked over to her and held the kitten in Hayami's face as she felt her heart skip a beat. "This is Max. Do you want to hold him?"

Immediately but gently, Hayami took the tiny kitten away from Kurahashi's grasp. She locked eyes with Max as he looked at her with adorable green eyes before letting out a tiny and squeaky meow. Immediately her face went to an expression exactly the same as that first picture Korosensei took, as she started playing with him.

Kurahashi brought some cat toys and gave some to everyone to play with the cats before striking a conversation. They all spent time talking about their lives so far. Isogai and Kataoka finally moved in together after they graduated college and his mom had made a full recovery. Kurahashi was making good money by taking kids out on nature hikes and her ability to find rare species of bugs to sell, of course to people who treat them right. Chiba managed to get his girlfriend's attention way from the cats long enough to talk about how his business was looking to open any time soon. While talking, Max got out of Hayami's grasp and crawled up her arm and her head and laid there.

"Ryu. Take a picture of this, please." she calmly asked, not wanting to move at all. Chiba did as instructed with a smile on his face. "I'm getting that framed."

"I think Max really likes you." Kurahashi said while holding a cat toy in front of one of the kittens as it repeatedly tried to claw at it as she raised it so it would miss.

Hayami removed Max from her head and placed him in her lap and began scratching him in sweet spots as he let out happy purrs. 

"I see her love of cats hasn't changed." Kataoka smiled.

"Tell me about it." Chiba laughed. "My entire gallery is her petting cats." He opens his photo gallery on his phone and lo and behold, there were dozens of photos of Hayami nuzzling with cats whether it be the street, the park, pet shop, or a cat cafe. Some of the pictures were selfies that Hayami were unaware of. The other three observed these pictures carefully, looking for Chiba's eyes and then they overheard Hayami.

"Oh, you're so cute, yes you are, yes you are!" Hayami squealed as she spoke in a far more bubbly and almost child-like tone. "Such a good kitty!" It was strange for the others to see her this way. She isn't as nearly as stoic as she was when they had first met. Still, it was kind of weird. Cute. But weird.

"Does she always baby talk like this?" Kurahashi asked while taking pictures of the sight before them. "Be glad Rio or Karma aren't here to see this."

"Do you _ really _ think this is something I'm ashamed of?" Hayami suddenly halted her baby talk and responded with the cold and business-like demeanor they were more used to before immediately nuzzling faces with Max as he playfully pawed Hayami's face several times.

Eventually, Isogai and Kataoka left early and after some more discussion and a meal, it was time to say goodbye. It took some convincing to get Hayami not to stay for another few hours but it was nearing ten and they had a meeting with the owner of the office building in the morning and Chiba needed some sleep. Before they left, Hayami needed to ask Kurahashi something.

"So what happens when they're grown up?"

"Well, they're almost there. Once they're grown and healthy they'll be put up for adoption." and before Hayami could respond Kurahashi help her hand up. "Let me guess. You want Max, right? He's all yours!"

Hayami smiled but then faltered before looking up at Chiba with child-like hope on her face. It was cute and he didn't have the heart to say no to her so her gave her the thumbs up before squealing and giving him a peck on the cheek and giving Kurahashi the biggest hug.

"Thanks, Hinano."

"You're welcome, Rinka! Bet you're real glad you came over now, huh?" the nature lover giggled before being let down and seeing her friends out and waving goodbye, inviting them to come over some time soon. Chiba and Hayami made their way home and immediately changed. Chiba was sitting on the edge of their bed while Hayami had finished brushing her teeth.

"Looks like in a few weeks I'll have some competition." Chiba joked.

"Hmm...maybe. It _was _really cute."

"Not as cute as me, right?"

Hayami put a finger on her chin and made a quizzical look before intensely looking at him. She brushed his hair back with her hand and looked into his eyes before putting his hair back.

“Hm...try growing some whiskers, then we can talk.” she teased and kissing him on the lips then getting into bed and falling asleep. But not before a final thought went through Chiba’s head.

_“I can rock a mustache."_


	2. In the Eyes of the Beholder

Chiba and Hayami weren't too fond being the center of attention and were glad that they didn't draw too much of it. You want to know what did though? Chiba's eyes. Especially for the Class 3-E artist, Sugaya.

Sugaya was very fond of people watching and would often draw others without them knowing as much as possible. He's just about drawn every single student in class but some students took that fact better than others. Not a lot of people gave much thought into it besides Terasaka's group who just said it was "weird" and Korosensei whose only complaint was that most of Sugaya's drawings of him were him being killed and that he'd make a "fantastic model."

One time he drew Hayami from the angle he saw her from his seat while bored in class. When she saw it she stared at it with her rather sharp eyes and called it "nice" but it didn't really have much emotion to it and the mood, for some reason, became awkward and bizarre as the two stood in incredibly awkward silence. He's also drawn Chiba some few times and he liked them; which was good, but want to know what bothered Sugaya? He knows everyone's face except Chiba's because no one's ever seen his eyes!

Chiba was absent that day after the school festival-where they had managed to rank high in popularity thanks to their food-and his artist curiosity got the better of him and suddenly he was under a tree during recess, face deep into his sketchbook drawing furiously when Mimura took a seat next to him.

"What are you working on this time?" the film prodigy questioned. Without looking away from his piece Sugaya gestured with his finger to look at his work. In the top-right hand corner was the words "Chiba's Eyes #2" and taking up the rest of the page was a head portrait of Chiba with his bangs parted to the sides to see his eyes. His eyes were drawn similarly to how Maehara's eyes were.

"Ah, trying to guess what Chiba's eyes look like?"

"It's such a simple concept yet the possibilities are endless!" the artist exclaimed.

"Are they really?"

"Yes, what else could make me work this hard."

"I don't know, Nakamura, maybe?" Mimura smirked before Sugaya hushed him but not before said blonde appeared behind them.

"What about me?" the girl asked causing the two to jump in genuine surprise as Nakamura looked over at the sketchbook. "No that's all wrong."

Sugaya and Mimura looked at her with confused looks before looking back at the sketchbook.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't doubt Chiba's good looking but he doesn't strike me as the pretty boy type."

Sugaya looked back at his sketchbook and turned over to a fresh page, already with another blank eyed Chiba.

"Are all the pages of this book eyeless Chibas?" Nakamura raised a brow with a sweat drop only for Sugaya to just nod without looking at her, already in deep thought as Fuwa came over in curiosity.

"Hey guys! What's going on here?"

"I'm trying to see if I can draw what Chiba's eyes look like."

Fuwa gasped and made her way over to the three and sat right next to Sugaya. "I have been trying to figure out what his eyes looked like ever since I met him. I have so many headcanons!"

The previous trio traded confused and honestly concerned looks before looking back at the manga fanatic. Fuwa was always kind of a strange one as she had always referenced things no one knew about and sometimes and would talk to the air about "some other anime or manga" already doing something similar to what had happened prior. Nakamura spoke up.

"Um...aren't headcanons for works of fiction?"

"Mhm." She was hard to understand sometimes. "Anyways, I think that someone like Chiba would fit with sharp eyes, like Hayami."

Sugaya nodded and began sketching and in a minute another version was finished. Except everyone felt a little uneasy at the finished product because...well....

"When I said 'like Hayami' I didn't mean to literally copy and paste her eyes onto his face."

"And I said he didn't look like the pretty eyes type of guy."

"Well what do you think he should look like?!"

Sugaya yelling caught the attention of more people as the rest of the class- except for Kataoka, Isogai, Sugino, Kanzaki, Nagisa, Karma, Okuda, and Hayami- came over. After explaining, everyone thought about it before giving their own two cents to the possibilities of Chiba's face as Sugaya began rapidly sketching everything he heard.

"Maybe his eyes are actually really round and cute."

"What if he has scars?"

"Oh...that'd be pretty cool!"

"But what about his eyebrows?"

"I can imagine him having some bushy brows."

"Oh God, what if he had a monobrow?"

"Hell no, I don’t think I would be able to look at him if he had one."

Those not participating were watching from a distance as their classmates began working Sugaya to the bone. They looked at Hayami, who looked rather unamused with it all.

"Are you alright, Hayami?" Nagisa asked.

"They're being awfully persistent." Hayami sighed.

"His hair covers enough of his vision like it were a gun sight," Karma noted "But you have to admit, I'm sure even the thought has run through even Karasuma's mind."

"I say let them, looks like they're having fun." Kanzaki remarked.

"Sure seems that way." Kataoka pointed towards the group. Sugaya seemed a little confused yet amused at the same time as he was taking instructions from Okajima.

"Why would Chiba be a cyclops? Wouldn't that just worsen his vision and prevent him from being a sniper?"

"Who cares, it's funny."

"Touche."

Sugaya finished up what was a less serious take on Chiba's eyes and more of a joke and everyone started laughing before Sugaya started the next take. It made Hayami feel a little better but she felt like making sure Chiba was OK with it all and took out her phone to text him. She told him about the current situation at hand and his only response was "Ha" and thus Hayami felt much better because that means he was also confident in their failure. So she walked over to the group to observe their progress.

"Oh Hayami, perfect timing! Do you think Chiba would look more like this? Or maybe a more softer look in his eyes." Sugaya flipped through the pages. Hayami was about to say something when her fellow dancer, Tōka Yada spoke up.

"Wait. Doesn't Rinka hang out with Chiba all the time now?"

"Yeah, weren't they on a date at the fireworks festival?" Kayano pointed out, much to Hayami's dismay.

"Oo la la, that must mean she has to have some type of idea of what they look like." Nakamura teased, probably less interested in the eyes and more on the pair's relationship.

"Time to diffuse this." Hayami thought as she coughed and looked at everyone, almost with a glare but decided to loosen up a bit yet still maintained a serious front.

"Look, that's none of your concern," she lectured, "but Chiba's eyes are a sensitive topic for him and I hope you guys have enough respect to not give him a hard time about it once you're all done with this." Those participating fell silent, not ashamed but made sure to take note. Everyone knew Chiba and Hayami had become very close as the school year went by and knew to trust her word.

"Of course. We respect Chiba's boundaries, right guys?" Sugaya spoke as everyone nodded with a hum. “We promise no more after this.”

She turned around and walked back to the classroom but not before turning her head to face them with a smirk. "Even so, both he and I know you'll never get it right." and with that she walked away. That only fueled everyone's fire again and Sugaya began going to town on his sketchbook. He didn't tell anyone but this was actually his third book of Chiba's eyes sketches. He was going to get it right, he had a feeling, he was sure of it!

The next day after school, Sugaya had quickly placed three sketch books on Chiba's desk for him to look through. Hayami was by his side as the two were walking home together. Chiba had to admit, these were some pretty awesome drawings. Incorrect drawings. But still good. Some of them were amusing while others needed questions. Like when he turned the page and was met with a drawing of him with sailor moon eyes. He held the sketch book up and looked at Sugaya with thin lips while pointing to it as if saying "explain." Sugaya laughed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yeah... Takebayashi insisted this one. He said he didn’t mind not being able to see your eyes but he said he would prefer they looked like this. I’m not sure if he was serious or not"

Chiba had no words. He also found the cyclops drawing and scoffed at it and shook his head as he looked. There were a lot of joke drawings but one especially got on his nerves: this Chiba head was incredibly...spherical...and yellow. Hayami saw it and immediately started giggling to herself before falling into hysterics and sitting in the nearest seat while clutching her stomach while Chiba blushed and tore the page out and crumpled it.

"Yeah I just wanted to see your reaction to that idea." Sugaya laughed.

It took five minutes for Hayami to regain to composure as Chiba carefully inspected each one of Sugaya's versions of Chiba's eyes. Eventually Chiba closed the final sketchbook and stacked it on the others.

"You're a really good artist, Sugaya, I'll give you that." said Chiba as he got out of his seat and packed his things into his bag.

"But?" Sugaya had a look of hope.

"Sorry, but not even close."

"Really? Not even one?" Sugaya asked as he grabbed his books while Chiba shook his head and gesturing to Hayami. The sniper duo made their way out, leaving Sugaya, who smiled with a "damn it" before packing and leaving; he sent a text to the class group chat saying the whole thing was a failure and was met with surprise and a flurry of "I told you so.”

* * *

By the time Chiba and Hayami made it to the train station the sun was going down as the pair waited for their rides in silence when Hayami turned to him and spoke.

"Not one of those drawings, huh?" she asked and Chiba shook his head.

"Can't say I haven't been curious about them myself," Hayami admitted. Chiba turned to face her with a smile and in the corner of his eye he saw a train coming and turned to face her directly, face first to the train.

"Is that so?" Chiba looked at her while she had a quizzical expression before a train races past them, bringing a wind that blew their hair and clothes past them. What Hayami saw was the wind blowing Chiba's bangs and his eyes were exposed, completely. They were reddish in color and had a very sharp gaze to them, sharper than her own and even Karasuma's. But something about them didn't really have an effect on her like she thought they would. She knew Chiba was self-conscious about his eyes and she could probably tell why. Once the train had stopped he fixed them and his eyes were out of site once more. "So, what do you think?"

"What-"

"I trust you, Hayami. That's all there is to it." Chiba smiled at her, both blushing. Hayami stared at him for a few seconds before pulling up his bangs causing him to freeze and blush even harder as she took a good look into his eyes for what felt like forever before letting go and fixing his hair for him. And smiled at him and gave him a kiss on the cheek and with red cheeks on both snipers.

"I think they're very pretty. Now let's-

Before she could finish the train doors had closed and the train left the station. The two stood in silence and mentally hit themselves, forgetting they were trying to go home.

"Well, crap...." Chiba mumbled.

"In retrospect that would have been a better conversation once we got off the train." Hayami said somewhat annoyed and embarrassed. Chiba shrugged and pointed down the street.

"Well it should be a few hours until the next train comes. The arcade is only a five minute walk from here, what do you say?" 

"Sounds like a plan, partner." The two traded smiles and made their way.


	3. Scary?

It was after school and mostly everyone had left once Korosensei had blasted out the window. Chiba and Hayami decided to stay after school and practice their shooting skills and had been at it for about an hour.

"I think that's enough for today," Chiba said.

Hayami nodded in agreement and made their way to the storage shed and returned the weapons and made their way out when Hayami realized her bag felt lighter and looked inside.

"I forgot my binder."

They made their way back into the main building into the room where they usually hold chemistry. When they opened the door they saw someone already occupied the back table: Manami Okuda. The petite chemist was expecting to be alone for the time and Chiba and Hayami were people she didn't interact with too often. The last time she had some kind of talk with Hayami was back at Kyoto when Hayami compared Karma to a "wild animal," something Okuda didn't agree with but wasn't upset about it. There was also a couple of sleepovers at Okano and Nakamura's but Okuda spent her time with Kayano and Kanzaki. And she doesn't interact with Chiba often. Anyway, she was surprised to see the pair still here.

"O-oh! Hey guys. Um, did you need something?" Okuda nervously asked.

"Hey, Okuda. I'm just forgot my binder is all."

"Oh, I guess this is yours then." Okuda pointed to a binder covered in cute stickers, mostly cats. Hayami quickly rushed over to the desk and picked up the binder and shoved it her bag and gave an embarrassed cough into her hand.

"Thank you," she muttered as Chiba walked over to them and observed the set up of vials and beakers filled with strange colored liquids.

"Trying to make some poison to kill Korosensei with, again?" the "eyeless" boy questioned as the two kept their focus on her. Okuda nodded.

"I'm trying to create s-something br-brand new." she avoided eye contact and stuttering her words was rare these days and Hayami and Chiba traded confused glances (well she assumed he was because all they could see was a slight frown).

"Do you have a plan for this one?"

"Ka-Karma s-said t-to lace some of his snack i-in his s-st-stash." Korosensei always had a stash of junk food and Karma usually knew where they were.

"Well, how's it going so far?" Hayami observed a beaker on a heater with purple liquid in it and a vial with green liquid in it in Okuda's hand while Chiba got closer to get a better look.

"I'm almost there." she checked a timer and carefully tipped the beaker over in extreme concentration

_ Careful, careful...I only need a tiny bit because so much as one-eighth of this will cause this to- _

Her train of thought was interrupted when she abruptly sneezed and the entire thing fell into the beaker and_ BOOM! _Next thing they knew a mild explosion and lots of smoke enveloped the room as everyone began coughing and trying to wave the smoke away. Once it dissipated everyone had soot and covering their bodies and their hair blown back and stuck that way. Okuda immediately let her shoulders slump with a frown before realizing she wasn't alone and her attention turned to one next to her, Chiba, who was coughing into his hand.

_ Oh no! I hope he's OK. God, I can't believe I messed up a...a....uh....! _

Once more her train of thought was interrupted because once Chiba looked up he had Okuda saw something no one would have expected her of all people to see: Ryuunosuke Chiba's eyes. Just like the rest of the girls, his bangs had been blown back by the chemical explosion and stayed at an upward angle towards the back of his head and she saw the_ scariest_, _angriest _eyes imaginable with the _sharpest_ gaze she's ever seen, looking down at her and it made her freeze in absolute fear and made her tremble. Chiba first saw the blackened desk then the chemist without her glasses, trembling and looked like she was going to cry. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hayami with a worried expression. Wait...his bangs don't let him see this much...oh...OH!

He quickly fixed his hair and backed away and immediately heard the crunch of glass being stepped on, causing both snipers to cringe.

_ "Please let that be a vial and not what I think it is." _both simultaneously thought. Chiba looked down and it wasn't. He picked up very broken glasses and traded looks with Hayami, who looked super annoyed at him. They looked at Okuda, who was still trembling while looking at Chiba. Hayami rushed to her side, turned her around, and shook her shoulders.

"Okuda. Okuda. Manami!" Hayami tried to get Okuda out of her state before the girl's eyes blinked. Hayami sighed, grateful because she didn't think she had it in her to slap the poor girl. "Are you OK?"

"U-um, yes. I think so."

The sound of running steps and the door opening as Karasuma and Irina ran in with worried expressions on their faces before cooling down after seeing the three kids looking relatively OK despite the cartoonish look of going through an up-close explosion.

"What's going on in here?" Karasuma asked in his usual professional and commanding voice.

"Oh, um... I was working on another poison and well...." Okuda said nervously but still calmer than before. She then remembered something. "Has anyone seen my glasses?"

Chiba looked at the ruined specs in his hands then at his teachers who looked at him expectantly, then at Hayami, who still looked annoyed.

"I accidentally stepped on them. I'm sorry, Okuda."

"Oh...that's, u-um, fine," she looked at the ground, "I have spare at home."

"Well, can you see at least." Irina asked with concern. Okuda looked at Hayami, who was right in front of her and while the class "tsundere" looked the most normal but was still a bit blurry.

"Not really. I'm very nearsighted."

"Well, that's not good. Do you usually walk home?"

Okuda nodded.

"We could take her home." Hayami insisted. Chiba looked at her with confusion until she glared at him.

"Yeah, we could do that." he coughed. The teachers looked at them with raised brows, trading quick looks before agreeing to let the pair take the blind girl home and promising to take care of their mess. After the three got cleaned up, Chiba pulled out his phone.

"Ritsu." Chiba called as his phone screen activated and the pink-haired appeared.

"Yes, Chiba?" the bubbly AI answered. "What can I do for you?"

"Can you give us coordinates to Okuda's house. Her glasses broke so Hayami and I are taking her home."

"Oh my. That's very considerate of you two," her female appearance disappeared and a map with a given path was created, "I have it right here. Follow this path and you'll be there in no time!"

"Thanks, Ritsu."

* * *

They made their way down the incredibly long stairs leading down the mountain and into streets of the city; Hayami locking her left arm with Okuda's right arm while Chiba stood to the chemist's left. Okuda had lived a bit far from the school but they were surprised to find out that she lived near where the two were headed to after school. They stayed in silence for most of the trip and Okuda did her best not to look at either of them but not once did she look at Chiba the entire time since they left the classroom.

They tried to talk to her but she seemed nervous and answered in small responses. After the train, they got some drinks from a vending machine and sat on a bench, the chemist in the middle of the snipers. After a few minutes of silence, Chiba finally asked something.

"Hey, Okuda...you, saw my eyes, right?" Okuda tensed up and Hayami looked at Chiba with a look of unease. Okuda was trying _ really _ hard not to think about which partly explains why she was so hesitant with speaking with the two but the tone in his voice sounded serious; the type of serious that meant this is a conversation we're are going to have because it needs to happen. She didn't look in Chiba's direction but she let out a small "mhm."

"When you saw them, Be honest, I need to know how they made you feel?"

It took her a couple of seconds before she breathed in and then out.

"They were just...so-so intense and uncomfortable" she admitted. "I w-was, scared. They were r-real-really scary. I thought you were going to attack me." Chiba winced slightly but nodded.

"Yeah, that's fair." Chiba's voice was monotone and didn't face the two. "You should know the reason I hide my eyes: I wasn't mad, what you saw is what my eyes had always looked like since I was a kid. They always made people uncomfortable to the point where I made other kids cry just by looking at them."

Hayami looked at him with sympathy and walked over to his side and rested her hand on his shoulder as he continued.

"If people didn't want to look at me simply because of my eyes then why not just hide them? I grew my bangs out to the point I can only see about one-tenth of what I normally could but people who knew what I looked like still felt uncomfortable or just made fun of me after so I decided to not make myself stick out too much. It wasn't until recently that I showed someone my eyes willingly: Hayami, but only because she's my partner and I trust her. I'm just...sorry you had to see me like that and I don't blame you for feeling the way you did."

"I'm sorry!" Okuda popped up, looking Chiba straight where his's eyes would be.

Hayami and Chiba were surprised and jumped a little when she apologized so abruptly. She looked sad but... determined? Like it was taking all her willpower to look at him like this.

"I'm sorry that I reacted the way I did. If I had known that you felt so insecure for that I would have never had reacted that way!" she stood up and bowed in apology. She wasn't sure if she really would have reacted differently and Chiba and Hayami had the same doubts but they weren't expecting this. Chiba guided her to sit down before responding.

"It's fine. You don't have to be sorry."

"But what you told me," she kept looking at him through blurry vision (which kind of helped), "No one should have to feel like that."

"She's right." Hayami joined in. "Besides, don't you remember what I said when I saw them."

He did and he immediately blushed at the thought of it because it was literally two days ago.

"I understand you don't want others to see your eyes but at least remember your partner has no problem with them." she calmly said as she stood up and looked him directly in the eyes.

After a couple of seconds, he looked at both-each giving him a warm smile- and smiled and turned to Okuda.

"And to think we were here to look after you."

Okuda giggled before the trio sat in silence again before she spoke again.

"Well, to be honest, Hayami kind of scares me too."

"What? Why!?" Hayami blurted.

"I mean, you always had an angry look on your face and you kind of have a cold way of talking to people," Okuda explained herself with her hands raised, "Especially when you don't agree or like what they say!"

"Well, I guess when you put it like that...." Hayami sighed.

"Also I had a dream that you were Hello Kitty and it terrified me even more."

"What!?" now she felt insulted "But Hello Kitty is so cute! It's a simple design of a chibi-style cat girl with nothing but love to offer!"

Hayami had pushed Chiba aside and was now next to Okuda on the bench aghast at this new information. She didn't know what she couldn't believe more, herself or Hello Kitty, one of Hayami's childhood icons, being besmirched as _scary _.

"It's nothing personal! It's just I never liked blank-faced characters is all!" Okuda defended. First Chiba's eyes and now the stoic sniper being this upset over something so trivial. She was learning so much about them but she wasn't sure how to feel about her current predicament.

Meanwhile, Chiba watched from the sidelines not sure how to take in the scene before him. Hayami went on a tirade on why it was ridiculous to be afraid of such nonsense. During this conversation, they also learned Okuda also wasn't a fan of black cats and was very superstitious of bad luck and never went near them or Jiji plushes, much to Hayami's dismay as a cat lover. Hayami had then placed her hands on Okuda's shoulders with her head slumped.

"Manami Okuda. I beg you, Hello Kitty, Jiji, and Pikachu I could live with." Hayami spoke slow and desperate and it made Chiba and Okuda uncomfortable. "But please tell me you like Totoro."

"Oh, I love Totoro!" Okuda perked up "I have a collection of plushes and toys from that movie."

And like that, Hayami had stars in her eyes and took Okuda's hands in her own. And thus, they continued their journey to Okuda's home while the two girls conversed on their interests in media and collections of cute toys and plushes the entire way and Chiba became a third-wheel. Not that he minded. This was a side of Hayami that he probably wasn't going to show again any time soon so he chose to revel at the moment. No one's really heard Hayami talk so much, but the two figured she just needed a topic she was really passionate about.

After half an hour, they finally got Okuda home and stood at the front door.

"Would you like to come in?" Okuda said as she pulled a key out from her jacket pocket and opened the door. "You don't have to act as a guide for me here. I've lived here all my life."

Chiba checked the time on his phone and showed Hayami.

"We'd love to but we have plans."

"Yeah, but we should really hang out some time." Hayami smiled- though Okuda would see it through fuzzy vision, which reminded her.

Okuda hastily made her way to her room, leaving the door open and the duo in awkward silence before they heard footsteps coming and the chemist came back, with glasses on and smiled happily at them.

"Well, since you can't stay I'll gladly accept your offer some time!" Okuda smiled and bowed. "And of course I must thank you both for escorting me home in a time of need."

"It's no problem." both Chiba and Hayami said with reassuring smiles before Hayami continued. "I guess we should be off, now. Goodbye, Okuda."

"Good luck with the new poison recipe." Chiba said as they the two walked away and waved goodbye to their classmate, who returned the wave before closing the door once the two were out of sight. Chiba and Hayami once again walked in silence, but Chiba still had a thought that was crossing his mind.

"So what was all that back at the station?"

"N-nothing! Shut up." Hayami snapped suddenly remembering her little tirade when finding out Okuda feared some some her most treasured childhood icons. "Let's just hurry up, I don't want to miss the movie."

And with that Hayami's pace quickened and hastily made her way down the sidewalk, leaving Chiba to smirk at her embarrassment before laughing and jogging to catch up to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of stories address Chiba's eyes only with him and Hayami but I thought it would be interesting if someone saw them on accident and Okuda being the nervous girl she is made her a perfect candidate to me.


End file.
